Erik Savage Statement

Erik Savage (aka RADICAL!) Artist Statement

Waste Forms - Solo Show - April 2013

Products of habit or addiction can serve as a culprit to interactions. These products are the embodiment of their associated interactions and memories. While many of these memories are discarded for the rest of time, the product which started it all is left behind as a form of waste. These waste forms serve as the only physical artifact of that lost moment in the past.

People, our environment, and interactions are all stored within the brain, and embodied in a cast off piece of trash. To any other being aside from their subjects, these memories are inconceivable and practically non-existent.

Upside Down Frowns - Solo Show - October 2011

Certain ideas are found in relation to how objects are found, for which ideas are to be placed upon. Working under the term RADICAL!, the gradual formation of ideas are heavily based on surroundings and social observation. This observation naturally results in some form of commentary, which is usually conveyed through various metaphors. The seemingly heavy drug content of the work is never used in a manner to promote drugs. In previous works the subject matter of needles would be used in a way, where they would be protruding from, or attached to certain parts of a characters body that it used to interact in some way. The needles symbolize a fear, and so by having them replace or protrude from something used for interaction, they would provoke a fear of socialization and interaction no matter how cute and inviting their subject may seem. These needles have gone to take on more diverse meanings while still revolving around fear. While questioning and exploring numerous subjects, an order has been established through the line work depicted through the paintings. Such line work is done to provide a sense of stability and serve as an act of refinement and checking in order to allow the imagery to continue to progress.